Congressmen Press NCAA to Drop Penn State Sanctions
Five Pennsylvania congressmen have written to the NCAA, asking it to drop its sanctions levied against Penn State in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal:
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports:
Mike Doyle (D-Forest Hills), Charlie Dent (R-Lehigh), Mike Kelly (R-Butler), Glenn Thompson (R-Howard) and Jim Gerlach (R-Chester) signed a letter dated July 24 to NCAA president Mark Emmert, asking him to rescind the remaining sanctions against Penn State, citing harm to student-athletes.
“The impact of these sanctions directly contradicts your organization’s supposed goal of promoting education for student-athletes,” the letter said.
Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany said Monday from the conference’s media days in Chicago that he hopes the NCAA looks favorably on any request to further lessen sanctions that might come from Penn State athletics integrity monitor George Mitchell.
“The leadership (at Penn State) really met the challenge as far as we’re concerned,” Delany said.
When asked for comment, Penn State football coach James Franklin said he is focused on preparing for the season.
“My focus is on what to call on third down against Central Florida,” Franklin said.
The sanctions, of course, included a voiding of all the university’s football wins between 1998 and 2011, a four-year ban on postseason play, and a $60 million fine.
See the letter below:
